A gossipy little holiday letter

Hello hello! I’m writing this from the smoggiest version of New York City I’ve seen yet, where my summer weekend plans have been steamrolled by the fact that it is so sweltering outside I can barely breathe. Drinks outside can wait.

Due to it being a holiday, this newsletter is required to be short and fun. Glad to say I am an expert in writing things that are brief and good for poolside reading.

Let’s get into the week, shall we?

The final reports that Taylor Swift’s wedding was at MSG. I don’t have fully formed thoughts on it yet. Why couldn’t it have been at The Met??

Also, this goes between the Saw and Need section, but I’ve devoured a few beach reads in the past weeks, my biggest recommendations go to The Everlasting (tear jerker), Wild Reverence (world builder), and Yesteryear (fun, although I didn’t love the twist!).

Two things that feel particularly summery to me: this Sonderhaus sardine tee, which I have been living in as a fresh-out-of-the-shower shirt, and the Grossy Pelosi + Crow Canyon collab. Specifically this red splatter pitcher that screams America. And this 5-quart bowl that screams pasta salad.

More homemade ice cream than I can count. A basil potato salad that was great to dip into from the fridge during breaks from writing at my desk. And a sungold tomato curry because the first sungolds of the season are precious.

A Strawberry Gooey Butter Cake for NYT Cooking! Which you can access with a gift link here.

While more classic, German-style gooey butter cakes are yeasted and take 3-4 hours, it would shock me if this one takes you more than an hour, tops.

I developed this recipe to mimic the gooey butter cake of my memories, which was something we only ever ate during summer vacations back to St. Louis while we lived in Hong Kong. Even without a strawberry swirl, this cake will always scream summer to me. And it’s fantastic with vanilla ice cream. Double points if it’s some kind of soft serve.

Here’s where the newsletter gets a bit gossipy. It is no secret I am not generative AI’s biggest fan. In fact, I’m so anti-ChatGPT that when people tell me they use it to write their emails I have to remind myself that yes, that is an option. Aside from the argument that reliance on it impacts our critical thinking, it also takes away from genuine creative work. Artists, writers, and even recipes are suffering.

This week I saw a few murmurs about AI and Substack — this platform that we love so much. (And yes, that was intentional em dash use).

As someone in this field, we know exactly who uses AI and who doesn’t. You hear them talk about it at events, post about it on Close Friends, there’s a nonchalance to it, because some people see using AI to create work as a big deal, and some people simply do not care.

Reenie Karim posted a video that starts about ChatGPT but then transitions into general commentary, which she followed up with a story yesterday that got me thinking:

If AI is supposed to be considered a tool, what duty do people who use AI have to their audience to disclose it? Is it considered their work if they generated it from a prompt? As the tool becomes more casually used (which I do not endorse!!), I think this question becomes more and more relevant. And I’d personally like a disclaimer on all AI generated work.

Anyways, maybe if this post gets to 5000 likes I’ll name names. It’s a holiday after all.

Xoxo,

Justine